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Iran

August 10, 2026

Tehran 9:45 pm

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Mohsen Rezai

Explainer

Who is Iran’s Mohsen Rezaei, hard-line IRGC veteran appointed to top security post?

Mohsen Rezaei's appointment comes as Iran navigates a fragile halt in hostilities with the US and negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

This aerial photograph shows boats anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026.

Analysis

How Hormuz crisis is boosting IRGC and Iran’s security establishment

Iran’s Hormuz strategy shows how the prolonged crisis is shifting power from political institutions toward the security establishment.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif in Mecca after signing the defense pact, Aug. 7, 2026.

Analysis

How Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan pact puts Iran's regional strategy to test

The defense agreement is not an anti-Iran bloc, but it may reflect a deeper regional adjustment to years of Iranian asymmetric warfare as well as uncertainty over US security commitments.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

Jordan shores up US lifelines as Iran targets Amman’s reliance on Washington

US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

As US rethinks regional presence, Israel shifts focus to destabilizing Iran

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

Why Iran isn't concerned over US plans for 'Arab NATO'

Contrary to what some may have expected, Iran does not appear concerned about US efforts to set up an "Arab NATO" — and for good reasons.

Talk of referendum on Trump meeting goes viral in Iran

The idea of holding referendums in Iran is generating lots of posts on social media, especially a vote on President Hassan Rouhani possibly meeting with Donald Trump, a topic on which the print media is largely steering clear.

US game plan on Iran written in Tel Aviv, claim Israeli insiders

Israeli sources claim that the actions taken by the Donald Trump administration against the Iranian regime all originate in Tel Aviv.

Iran’s president goes on TV to offer hope as US reimposes sanctions

In a televised interview, Iran’s president tried to renew hope among Iranians as US sanctions were reimposed on the country’s troubled economy.

Iranian MPs, activists lobby to force government to hire young managers

An initiative to compel the Iranian government to start hiring younger staff for managerial positions appears to be gaining steam.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 08: White House National Security Advisor John Bolton (L) and Vice President Mike Pence listen to President Donald Trump announce his decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in the Diplomatic Room at the White House May 8, 2018 in Washington, DC. After two and a half years of negotiations, Iran agreed in 2015 to end its nuclear program in exchange for Western countries, including the United States, lifting decades of economic sanctions. Since then interna

US hopes new sanctions fuel Iran protests

The US administration said it hoped that renewed economic sanctions on Iran going into effect Tuesday will spur Iranian protests and pressure the regime to accept Donald Trump’s offer for talks.

US Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson (C), is seen inside a car escorted by Turkish plain clothes police officers as he arrives at his house on July 25, 2018 in Izmir. - A Turkish court on July 25, 2018 ruled to place under house arrest US pastor who has been imprisoned for almost two years on terror-related charges in a case that has raised tensions with the United States, state media said. The state-run Anadolu news agency said he was being put under house arrest, although it was not clear if he had already lef

Turkey remains defiant in row with US over pastor as deal falls through

A possible deal to end the US-Turkish row over an American pastor detained in Izmir appears to have failed after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heaped additional demands on an agreement.

How regional politics is restraining Kurdish militancy in Iran

While some Iranian Kurdish armed opposition groups are intent on raising the heat on Iran amid ongoing US pressure, other groups are careful not to enter a conflict that may spiral out of control.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Zarif says US primary goal is to ‘create chaos’ in Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif believes Iran can weather the storm of US sanctions.

Culture alert: Music mixed with history in August

Some of the August festivals in the Middle East take place in spectacular settings, from Cairo to Byblos to Troy.

As ringmaster, Russia runs Israel-Iran balancing act in Syria

A deal brokered by Russia has something for everyone involved — Syria, Israel, Iran and, of course, Russia itself — and has defused at least temporarily what could have become a deadly showdown between Israel and Iran.

A picture taken on January 14, 2017 shows street traffic in the Iranian capital Tehran on the first anniversary of the nuclear agreement.
The first anniversary, of the nuclear deal between Iran and six powers, that lifted a large part of international sanctions on Iran in return for limits on Tehran's nuclear programme, comes four days before the inauguration of Republican president Trump on January 20. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

China set to fill vacuum left by French carmakers exiting Iran

The exit of French automakers from Iran is leaving a vacuum that appears set to be filled by Chinese auto manufacturers.